Author

Keywords

Abstract

This research answers the question, "what impact did the 2000 election have on low-income African American voters and how will it affect turnout in future elections?" The analysis focuses on the predominantly black, low-income community of Parramore and examine issues of efficacy related to the 2000 presidential election and beyond. The analysis consists of survey distributed through various community service agencies and conducted door-to-door in Parramore. Respondents were asked a series of questions related to past voter participation, trust in government, the fairness of the 2000 election and perceived future participation. The responses of the survey were compiled into a dataset and controlled for race. These data were then compared with the 2000 National Election Studies (NES) dataset to determine whether the attitudes in Parramore reflected a national trend. The analysis showed that nationally, a majority of whites rated the 2000 election as fair and the majority of blacks called it unfair. Additionally, blacks have a much lower level of trust in the federal government than whites. Historical voting data from NES shows that blacks have lower levels of participation than whites and increases in participation have occurred only in years when the ballot featured presidential candidates who were perceived either very positively or very negatively by the black population. Through use of the NES feeling thermometer, the data show that in 2000, blacks were largely motivated by their distrust and fear of the Republican candidate, George W. Bush. The feelings of disenfranchisement resulting from the election have negatively affected feelings of efficacy among blacks, meaning they will be less pat to participate in future elections.

Graduation Date

2003

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Pollack, Phillip

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Format

PDF

Pages

66 p.

Language

English

Rights

Written permission granted by copyright holder to the University of Central Florida Libraries to digitize and distribute for nonprofit, educational purposes.